St George Illawarra Dragons control their own destiny in the 2015 NRL competition.
Forget about other team’s results.
The scenario is simple.
The Dragons have tumbled from fourth to 10th after seven straight losses.
They tackle the under-siege Newcastle Knights at 2pm this Sunday, August 2, at Jubilee Oval, Kogarah.
The two clubs have played each other 30 times since 1999; Dragons have won 20 games.
They have had six clashes at Jubilee Oval; three wins each.
The Knights sacked their coach Rick Stone this week and his assistant Danny Buderus is the interim coach for the rest of the season.
Dragons forward Jack de Belin said the players were wary of the Knights with a new coach.
‘‘You should never write off a team with a new coach because even though there’s a bit of turmoil, they’re going to be trying to play their best and play for their contracts because everything’s up in the air,’’ he said.
Dragons playmaker and five-eighth Gareth Widdop said the team had to perform.
‘‘We need to start winning,’’ he said.
‘‘The Dragons have the squad to get things right.
‘‘We have a good group of players in the squad.’’
Widdop said finding their rhythm in attack was crucial to a Dragons revival.